Not so hot, sorry. At least not this presentation (maybe more will follow that will change my mind).
First, while I applaud G4 for taking this live, there are couple of problems. First, those of us on the East Coast shouldn't have to be up to 1am to see the thing. Second, the HALO 3 trailer. You know how sometimes you watch a porno, and the director cuts away from the money shot?
Yeah, me neither. WTF were they thinking but putting a commercial THERE? It's not like they couldn't anticipate it.
As for MS, I acknowlege that after the last few years, with all the new launches, conferences that focus on the software are going to feel a little lackluster. Probably be true of Nintendo and Sony. And I give them credit for spinning the sales numbers really well at the start (I'll let someone more knowlegably critique or verify that spin).
Certainly this year's lineup is impressive (though I seriously hope they weren't expecting a big reaction for Sonic and Golden Axe). Lots of games I'll eventually want to look into. I think they kind of booted HALO3, though,and not just because of G4 - I think Assassin's Creed, RE5, and COD4 were more impressive. Shouldn't let that happen on to their own title. And what the hell was with the Halo console? Other than a craptastic color choice (yeah, so many homes are decorating in avocado nowadays), what's its features? Is it an Elite? Premium? Core? Does it cost extra? Is it a bundle? WTF?
I think the decision to focus on this year's games exclusively was a mistake. It felt to me that they were putting too much urgency on the now and ignoring the lifespan of the system. Makes me wonder if they think this is their last, best chance to fend off the competition, bury Sony now or never. And that whole "Scene It" bit just screamed "Mii too!"They came off defensive - I wanted them to go in for the kill.
When it comes to selling a console I think gamers need 3 things: First that there are games worth playing now, second that more games are coming in the future, and third, that the console is worth the initial purchase.
I think they did a smash up job with the first. If I had a 360 (and eventually I will), I would be thrilled, but I'm not convinced to put down my 4 bills (plus more for the Elite, plus more for the Live Gold, plus more for the exclusive content). The second? Well, they would have assured me of this calendar year, at the very least. But the third? I think they should have closed the deal with "And all this can be yours for just $329!" MS needs to get the fence sitters to chose their team, and I'm not sure this did it. Close, but a price cut would have sealed the deal. Seems to me that the reveal of the HALO console would have been the PERFECT time to announce the price cut.
Overall, I'd say a 7 out of 10, 6 if you were watching G4TV. Again, not a final score for E3, just for this presentation.